Juvenile-justice system under fire

Those are just a couple things that could be on the table when Gov. Andrew Cuomo releases his first budget proposal Tuesday, as the state faces a nearly $10 billion gap.

But here's one thing that observers are positive will be on the table: the state's troubled juvenile-justice system. It's been in Cuomo's sights since his State of the State address.

"Don't put other people in prison to give some people jobs!" were some of Cuomo's impassioned words — more than half of the 656 juveniles currently in facilities run by the state Office of Children and Family Services are from New York City.

And just weeks after Cuomo's speech, four breakaway Democratic state senators issued a report claiming overtime and worker's compensation claims from OCFS employees have increased since 2007.

Meanwhile, the number of juveniles held in OCFS facilities has dropped by nearly two-thirds from 2001 to 2010; the vacancy rate has gone from nearly zero to 33 percent.

OCFS has also closed 10 facilities since 2007 — including two earlier this month — and cut 662 jobs.

"It illustrates the approach OCFS is taking is not working," says state Sen. David Carlucci, D-New City, one of the four senators who issued the report.

There are two OCFS facilities in our region: the Goshen Secure Center and the Highland Residential Facility. Both facilities have made recent headlines, for the wrong reasons.

There was the infamous sex party for residents at Goshen in December 2009. The facility's assistant director was suspended for 60 days and demoted, and three other workers were disciplined. And earlier this month, the state Inspector General's Office announced it was expanding its investigation after a former OCFS worker at Goshen was sentenced for insurance fraud.

In November, a 16-year-old Highland resident hanged himself in his room, the first suicide in an OCFS facility in two decades.

OCFS employees, union officials and legislators say they haven't heard if Goshen or Highland are potential targets for closure; as with most things connected to his budget proposal, Cuomo has revealed little.

State Sen. John Bonacic, R-Mount Hope, a longtime OCFS critic, says if Cuomo's figures show the centers don't make financial sense, he'd be on board with closing more facilities. "The governor's figures have to match the rhetoric," Bonacic said.

"This isn't just about keeping people working or keeping facilities open," Madarasz says. "How do we deal with youthful offenders? What's in their best interests and the best interests of public safety?"